ARKADELPHIA — Defense is the main reason several Arkansas Tech Golden Suns championship banners hang in the rafters of John E. Tucker Coliseum.

ATU’s defense in the final 3:45 was the reason the Golden Suns beat the Henderson State Lady Reddies 68-62 on Saturday inside the Duke Wells Center and remained in sole possession of first place in the Great American Conference women’s standings.

“I think our depth really paid off today,” Golden Suns head coach Dave Wilbers said. “We had some girls come off the bench and played some great minutes. I think we wore them down, and suddenly all their shots that were easy in the first half were really tougher in the second.

“I’m real proud of our team, It was one of those days where we couldn’t hit a shot. It’s frustrating when that happens, point-blank shots just bounce back out.”

Rosie Silva’s first 3-pointer was the first of three straight for Arkansas Tech (16-6, 13-3 GAC) in the first half. Tikeyiah Johnson’s 3-pointer gave the Suns a 13-7 lead, then a Jasmine Poole free throw later made it 17-7.

But Krystal Beacham netted eight of Henderson State’s first 11 points, as ATU netted just two points during a span of 4:30. Then Jalisa Benjamin gave the Lady Reddies (10-12, 5-11) their first lead (22-21) with a free throw with 4:29 to go before the half.

Johnson hit a layup, was fouled and with the free throw gave the Golden Suns a 30-24 lead, but Dulincia Keener also cashed in on a traditional 3-point play with two minutes left to cut Arkansas Tech’s lead to 30-27 at halftime.

Henderson State opened the second half with an 8-0 scoring run and led 35-30 after a Beacham basket. A Destiny Smith layup gave the Lady Reddies their biggest lead of the game, 37-31, but the Golden Suns stopped HSU with a 7-0 scoring surge by Silva and Caroline Eubanks.

Both teams snared the lead until Cara Neighbors drained a 3-pointer with 13 minutes left to give ATU A 47-45 margin. The Lady Reddies stopped another Suns scoring run (6-0) and answered with one of their own to pull within 58-57 on a Beacham free throw.

But that’s when Arkansas Tech’s defense clamped down and didn’t allow HSU to hit a field goal for the final 3:45. The Suns led by as many as nine until they settled for the final 68-60 margin on a free throw from senior Jessica Weatherford.

Silva led everybody with 25 points, and added six rebounds, six steals and two assists. She moved to third on the all-time Golden Suns career steals list with 242.

“She’s probably mad at me because I took her out for two minutes,” Wilbers joked. “Heck, I like to watch her play so much. She’s worked so hard every day in practice. She may end up being one of the best point guards in the country, and one of the best point guards I’ve ever coached, her and Laura Beth (Anderson).”

Aunglique Sledge led the Lady Reddies with 15 points, followed by Beacham (13) and Benjamin (11).

The Suns will return to Tucker Coliseum to host the Arkansas-Monticello Cotton Blossoms at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Wilbers encouraged all basketball fans to attend and support both of ATU’s basketball programs.

“We’re in the final stretches of our regular season. These girls deserve a big crowd,” the coach said. “It’s been a trying year for the men’s and women’s programs, and they both deserve a big crowd. We’re both in a fight for conference championships. Come on out and watch some great basketball.”